Quil's Sketchbook
by Unicorn's Whisper
Summary: A side-story with various one-shots from my main story Sunflowers. Where was Quil when Claire returned? What did her mother tell him over the phone? How does the pack deal with the whole situation? What's up with Embry? And who's Ray? Quil/Claire
1. Sketch 0

As it says in the summary, this story will contain various one-shots from my main story _Sunflowers_. If you haven't read that yet this will probably make no sense, but you're still welcome to try.

Summary for _Sunflowers_:

_I__ lost so much time. Over the years I forgot what it was like to love and be loved, but I never forgot what I really wanted. "I can't take this... I can't take this anymore!" "Claire, what-" "Home. I just want to go home." Quil/Claire_

Now, back to business. These one-shots (I'll refer to them as sketches from now on) probably won't be very long. They'll just be little missing scenes from different parts of the story, don't worry I'll always pinpoint where these parts fit in.

Feel free to ask questions, comment on what you like or don't like, but most of all just enjoy :)

First sketch will be coming out soon.

(**EDIT:** Updated and done!)


	2. Sketch 1

Here you go :) Now this is something like a prologue. Enjoy!

* * *

**A Brother and Friend**

When she was three and he was sixteen years old, she could make him dress up anyway she wanted. Her joy was his joy, and he liked every moment of wearing the stupid plastic tiara with a pink tutu (except maybe the part when Emily wouldn't stop taking pictures).

**xxx**

When she was five and he was eighteen, she was scared of monsters under the bed. It was his job to protect her, so he would check under her bed every night and pose as her hero if anything tried jumping out from the shadows (he even tied a sheet around his shoulders to make a cape).

**xxx**

When she was seven and he was twenty, she wanted a cat. He hated cats and cats hated him, but since that was her wish he bought her a little kitten just for her to be happy (even though the little feline wouldn't stop scratching and hissing at him whenever he came near it).

**xxx**

When she was nine and he was twenty-two, her cat died after being hit by a car. He was her shoulder to cry on and he was the one who helped her bury the furry friend (he even made a little tombstone with the cat's name engraved on it. Even though he hated the cat).

**xxx**

When she was eleven and he twenty-four, she explained love to him. He had taken her to the sunflower field for the first time and she opened the world to him.

"_Why do you like sunflowers so much?" He had asked._

"_It's because they love so much," She answered simply "They love the sun so much that they can't live without it. They follow it and bent to it, no matter what direction the sun's facing and no matter how thick the clouds could be. Uncle Jake once said something about love and gravity. I think he was wrong. It's not about being bond or tied to the person, that's like having no will. It's about following the person with your own desire. Like sunflowers follow their star. They could be like any other flowers, they could just stand still and took the sun in, but they chose to follow it, that's how much they love it."_

At that moment as she spoke and gazed at the flowers, she looked older than eleven, wiser than eleven. Wiser than him. From that moment onward he saw their bond in a new light. He even tried explaining it to Embry, to get him lose the fear of imprinting. But Embry, like always, refused to listen or try to understand.

**xxx**

When she was twelve and he twenty-five, she was taken away from him.

He was ten years old when he experienced loss for the first time. His older brother Conall died after a long disease. A few years later when his parents divorced and his mother left, it was almost the same. At Conall's funeral he cried because he didn't understand what was really happening, he didn't understand death. He just knew that he'd never see his older brother again. And when his mother left, he cried because he didn't understand the sudden change and why his parents kept arguing. He only knew that he wouldn't be seeing his mother every day anymore.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, could compare to the feeling when Claire was snatched away from him. He didn't cry like he did for Conall or for his mother. He raged and blamed himself because it was his fault.

He couldn't stop Conall's disease from spreading and he couldn't stop his parents from divorcing, but he could have prevented Claire's move if only he had listened to Emily and kept his big mouth shut.

After all, he was the one who told Claire's parents what kind of monsters they were, and that he as one of the so called monsters had imprinted on their daughter.

Her mother screamed at him and her father reached for a baseball bat. After that he was prohibited to see her or come anywhere near her. The same rule applied for everyone else in the pack. Only two weeks later their house was emptied and sold, and the Summers were halfway across the country.

**xxx**

When she was eighteen and he thirty-one, she suddenly came back on her own.

He almost went mad with worry when Jacob told him she ran away from home. No one knew where she was, but they had a hunch she would come to La Push. The problem occurred when she didn't show up when they expected her to, and Quil feared something had happened to her along the way. He wanted to go looking for her, but Jacob stopped him. He didn't even know where to look and there was still a possibility that Claire was simply taking her time. He feared so much that his phasing went out of control for awhile, and for those few days he tired himself with extra patrol.

When he got a call from Emily, sobbing from relief in the phone that Claire was safe and at their place, strange emotions overcame him. The relief he felt made him feel faint and lightheaded, but the fear of confronting her made him sick to his stomach. He feared she would blame him.

When he finally gathered his courage and when he was positive he had his phasing under control again he went to see her. And all his fears were easily forgotten.

Claire still trusted him, still hugged him and still smiled at him.

**xxx**

When she was twenty and he thirty-three…

* * *

A penny for your thoughts?


	3. Sketch 2

**Note**: Takes place at the beginning of chapter 12.

* * *

**The Hidden Stars  
**

It was a silent night, the sky looked clear. There was no rain and it was almost warm outside. Even so Sam still glanced up in worry before gently knocking on the door and it was Jacob who opened it.

"I got here as soon I could. What's wrong?"

Jacob lead him to the kitchen where Seth, Quil and Embry were already waiting. By the tired look on Seth and Embry's faces he didn't have to guess twice. "They're back again?" he looked at Jacob "I thought you said they ran off."

"We all thought so. There was no trace of them for the past two weeks, we've all done rounds past the border and all the way up to Canada. The traces we found there were old and it looked like they moved on."

"How many?" asked Sam.

"At least three," answered Seth "It looks like they brought a friend."

Sam cursed "This is no good, Paul, Jared and I can't phase anymore, Leah already has problems with staying in her form and there's no telling when it might start for Seth."

"At least Mattis is quickly catching on," Embry tried to reassure him "The kid has stamina and he's as big as you."

"He's still too inexperienced, and I don't want my son anywhere near them when he gets too overconfident."

"I'm keeping him in the back, don't worry," spoke Jacob calmly. They were all inexperienced and overconfident once, but this was different. Sam had to risk his son and he knew exactly what was out there. Not an easy decision for a father.

"Is Ally showing any signs yet? I'm not in favor of this, but we do need more heads for patrol," Seth nodded towards Embry who was falling asleep where he was standing. He gave him a nudge and pushed him in the direction of his room "Get some sleep man, we'll fill you with all the details tomorrow."

After Embry staggered off Sam answered "She's not showing anything yet, but then again Leah didn't either. She just exploded one day. Ally's afraid it might happen in a crowded area somewhere so she's even reluctant to go to school."

"I should ask Leah to talk to her," said Jacob.

Sam nodded "That could help."

Quil till now had kept silent. It hadn't go unnoticed by Seth "Quil, you okay?"

The man buried his face in his hands "No."

"We'll finish this as soon as possible," Jacob said confidently. Yes, he was worried, but he had to keep his cool. Especially around the pack when they all depended on him.

"They were close," Quil suddenly looked up at Sam "We caught their scent not even a mile away from here. From this house! They must have been prowling around here when none of us were home. What if… what if…"

The look in Quil's eyes was mad. Lost, worried, angry, powerless, weak... he could go on forever. Sam had seen that look many times. Heck, he himself had wore that look many times. They all look like that when they think their imprints are in danger. And Quil here was putting himself under even more strain because Claire was still oblivious to the danger.

"She wasn't home then," Jacob reassured him "She was in school, and you two rarely leave her alone anyway."

"And what if Embry or I had run out after them leaving her behind and not knowing there was a new one coming from the back? They're seeking revenge. It's like it was with that redhead back at the beginning. A mate for a mate."

"We don't know that for certain," Seth said slowly.

"We do!" hissed Quil angrily and began shaking "Their scent was all over the place but they mainly lingered around our homes. They're after them!"

"Quil, calm down," spoke Jacob still calmly. He didn't command him, but Quil nevertheless backed down. He bowed his head again and took large breaths. He also entwined his fingers in his hair and looked like he was about to pull it all out. He wanted to pull it out.

"Wait a second," began Sam looking at Jake "They managed to breach our border? There's always someone patrolling, how did they get past us?"

"That's just it, we don't know," answered Jacob "We all did our regular rounds, but this evening when Seth and Embry were about to switch with me and Quil the wind changed and we caught their stench. Out of nowhere their scent was all over the reservation and we had no clue how they got in. But what's weirder is that the scent is at least a day old."

Sam's eyes widened "You mean-"

"They must have found a friend with a nasty ability," Jacob nodded "Even Nessie didn't catch their scent until we did. The new one can either play with our senses or has some really tricky hiding ability."

Sam sat down opposite of Quil and began massaging his temples "Damn it. Did you talk with the Cullens?"

Jacob nodded "Alice and Jasper are already in town, the rest are on their way. Carlisle wants to try _talking_ with them."

Quil growled at that "There'll be no talking. The leaches gave us warning and they're serious about it. And why do the Cullens have to get involved in this? We did just fine without them after they left."

"Because it poses a serious threat to their family as well. We just got outsmarted by three vampires and there's a possibility they might target our imprints. You forget Renesmee is not only part of the pack, but part of the Cullens as well, Quil. If they believe one of them is being threatened they won't just let it go and let her face it alone," answered him Jacob "Plus, it'll help us with an additional set of eyes and ears on the lookout."

"I just don't like extra vampires crawling around this place," said Quil stubbornly "We never should have abolished the treaty, that way the Cullens would at least stay off of our land."

Sam, who was watching Quil closely the entire time asked him suddenly "This isn't so much about the Cullens as it is about Claire finding out, is it Quil?"

Quil didn't answer but rather looked away. Seth sighed and put a comforting hand on his shoulder "You really should tell her, man. I don't know what reaction you expect, but have a little more faith in her. You're just putting yourself under too much unnecessary strain. And if she knew she'd be more cautious herself too. We both know she still goes for walks in the forest and sometimes wanders too far away from the house despite your warning. But think about it, if she knew, she'd definitely stay away from it. She probably wouldn't mind staying at Emily's from time to time and that way both you and Embry could do patrols at the same time."

"But-"

_Crash._

Quil froze in mid-sentence as the four of them all looked up at the sudden noise coming from Embry's room. Another soon followed.

_Smack._

They heard Embry's sleepy voice call out "Claire, what the-?"

The four men in the kitchen tensed and half expected Claire to start yelling about vampires "Stop snoring! Get some help from a clinic or I swear to god I _will _stuff some socks down your throat!"

"But-"

"And they will not be a clean pair!"

They heard her slam his door shut and then pad barefoot back to her room. She didn't even give them a second glance as she passed the kitchen and back to her room. The four of them (and Embry too) were quiet and still as they listened to her climb back into bed, rustle her blankets and then sigh with contentment as she quickly fell back to sleep.

Quil looked like he might have a stroke anytime now while Seth and Jacob shared a look.

"She asleep already?" asked Sam who didn't share their super inhuman hearing anymore.

The boys nodded. They must have been so engrossed in their conversation that no one even noticed or heard Claire get up and walk to Embry's room.

"Well that was a close call," grinned Jacob and gave Quil a pat on the back.

Quil was still recovering.

"This obviously isn't the best time for a meeting and it would have been better if everyone was present," said Sam getting up "Jake, who's patrolling now?"

"Collin, Brady and Leah. Me, Mattis and Quil are taking the morning shift. It's gonna get crammed for a while until all the Cullens get here."

Sam nodded understandingly "When should we have a full pack meeting?"

"At dawn before we change the morning shifts, I'll phase and notify everyone. Seth, can you stop on the way to Paul and Jared's?"

"Will do," nodded Seth and moved away from the counter where he was leaning the entire time "The usual place?"

Both Sam and Jacob nodded. The usual place meant Sam and Emily's place. Even though Sam stepped down and Jacob took the Alpha position, the Uley residence was still their meeting point. Old habits die hard.

After Sam and Seth had left, Jacob still lingered. He looked at his childhood friend slumped and defeated, and decided to sit down for a while. No words were needed just his presence was enough to ease Quil and make him talk.

"I don't think it's going to work."

"What? With the vampires? Quil you know we've had worse. We had an _army_ of newborns breathing down our necks when half of us were still scrawny half-mutts like Mattis."

"No, I mean between Claire and I," said Quil with defeat.

"Don't go ahead of yourself just yet. Nothing can stop working when it hasn't even started to work yet."

"I don't think it can even start. She doesn't even consider me in that way, and I doubt she ever even wondered about it. Even for even a teeny tiny bit."

"Still way ahead of yourself man," Jacob shook his head "You expect her to be like she was 10 years ago all open with smiles and kisses for everyone. She obviously had a hard time in Chicago. Remember how Emily explained the drastic change the first time they visited her? We didn't really believe her until Claire came back by herself, and even now Emily says she's behaving way more normal than how she was in Chicago. I think those theories Kim has been having about imprinting going both ways might be true. Claire imprinted on you, but she didn't know it. When she was away she didn't know what she was missing and she probably even confused it with homesickness for La Push. Just give her time and she'll come around."

"And if she doesn't?" Quil asked anyway.

"You explain the situation," Jacob stated simply.

At Quil's silent retort Jacob glared at him "If you don't, then we will."

"I get it, I will… I mean… yeah, I get it," Quil stammered.

Nodding Jacob got up "Someone needs to beat the fear out of you. I'll leave a note for Leah to do it later, but right now I have to go. I have two visiting leech-relatives in my house and I want to get some rest before the whole house begins to reek like bleach."

Quil managed a small smile "My condolences Jake."

"At least it's not blondie," grinned Jacob "There's no telling what she would put under my pillow."

"Probably something dead."

"Probably," Jacob grinned even wider as they walked out onto the porch "See you in the morning." And with that he phased and vanished into the forest.

Quil just stood there and listened to Jacob's howl as he greeted those who were on patrol at the moment. He looked up at the clear night sky, and like many times before it never ceased to amaze him how many stars he could see from here if the clouds were absent. They were twinkling down at him playfully, happily, beautifully like…

Walking back inside he stopped before her room. He gently touched the cool wood of her door and then leaned his forehead against it. He listened to her slow even breathing, and just the notion of it was beautiful to him. He then slowly slid to the floor and turned his back to lean on it. He listened to her, he listened to her heartbeat and he wished he could listen to her dreams. He needed courage.

If he explained the situation again… would she disappear again?

Sitting alone in the dark hallway the stars didn't reach him.

* * *

There ya go! Good ol' Quil.

I should start writing more of these. I already see I'll make a big mess of it... they probably won't be in a periodical order either. Oh well. Better than nothing I guess.

Tell me what you think about this one, 'kay?


	4. Sketch 3

**Note:** This takes place sometime during Chapter 13 before Claire comes home from school and Ray spends his first morning alone in the house. With the refrigerator ^^

* * *

**Ray and the Refri****gerator**

Ray woke up feeling refreshed and well rested after his first night in the little almost non-existent reservation of La Push. He rolled out of bed, straightened the sheets, puffed the pillows and nicely smoothed down the blanket. Feeling painfully proud of his little handy work he ignored the rest of the messy room and quickly walked out before he started sorting through the piles of Embry's clothed that lay everywhere.

The house was quiet since no one was around. Claire was in school and Embry still hasn't returned from his shift, Quil, on the other hand, should be around somewhere. Ray took a peek out the kitchen window which was overlooking over the yard and the garage. The big garage doors were opened so he guessed Quil was working there.

He shrugged at the calmness and peace this remote place offered and vanished in the bathroom. He took note of the cleaning equipment this small household kept under the sink as he browsed through them to see if they were of any use. In the end he was satisfied. Not the best, but they would do. You never know when there might be an urgent cleaning emergency around here.

When he decided to make himself some breakfast he hopped to the kitchen and rummaged around the cabinets for plates and some bread. Upon opening the fridge he checked the jars and milk cartons for expired dates. And that's when he noticed the strange green substance in the very back of the fridge.

Ray moved some of the stuff around to take a better look. It was green and appeared to be sort of jelly-ish, it was also the size of plate but more thick. At best he would say it was some sort of a plant, but it looked too alien to be one.

He grabbed a spatula from one of the kitchen drawers and carefully approached the life form that appeared to live in the refrigerator. He nudged its side carefully to see if it was really sticking to the wall of fridge. When nothing happened and he still couldn't see quite clearly he nudged it again, this time more powerfully.

And this time it moved.

"Holly shit!" Ray dropped the spatula, closed the fridge shut and jumped on a chair as if the green jelly thing couldn't reach him there "Sweet mother of pearl! What was that thing?"

He later had to explain to Claire why there was a chair pushed against the fridge's door. And the table.

* * *

Gotta love Ray :)


End file.
